2008 McPrice Myers Syrah Les Galets – $28.80

I’ve wanted to try this one since it arrived at my door last April.  This is, as with most McPrice Myers wines, a big boy, weighing in at over 16% alcohol.  The professional and Cellar Tracker reviews sound promising.  As I state every time I have one of these wines, they may not be for daily consumption, but every few weeks I can get into one.  This should be a good match for a Wisconsin dietary staple, some spicy brats.

I’m generally a fan of Mc Price Myers, but some of their wines are too big and ripe even for me.  Wines with this much body and alcohol, to me, absolutely must have solid tannins and more importantly enough acidity to avoid becoming syrupy.  There has to be something to support and give a backbone to a massive wine.

From a bottle that had been opened for 2 hours but not decanted.  Deep, dark purple color, almost black.  This wine has a massive nose full of blackberries, plums, charcoal, minerals, vanilla, charred meat, wildflowers, and spicy oak.  This is a full bodied wine with solid, chewy tannins and good acidity.  This has solid walls of fruit and spice on the palate with some nice earthiness and dark chocolate in the background.  There is a long lingering finish full of dark fruit, spice, and dark chocolate.  This is an outstanding wine that should last several years in the cellar, but I’d probably drink on the young side before the alcohol (16.2%) becomes too noticeable.  (94 pts)

 

Dinner was some fresh, store made “Spicy Packer Brats” from Karl’s Country Market close to my office.  These were a perfect pairing with the McPrice Myers Syrah, in my opinion.  Both were big and bold but complimented each other.

 

 

2003 Domaine du Banneret Châteauneuf-du-Pape – $28.73

I bought a few of these from Garagiste Wine out of Washington a little over five years ago.  So far we’ve only had one bottle and I liked it, so it’s time to check in again to see how it is doing.

The wine is a light to medium ruby red color with a fair amount of bricking.  Worn leather, minerals, dried herbs, cherries, plums, baking spices, earthy underbrush, white pepper, and meat juices are on the very open and inviting nose.  This is medium body with fairly solid tannins and very nice acidity.  More savory than fruity on the palate with the dried herbs and earthy elements in the front and the fruit in the background.  This has a fairly long finish which is again more savory than fruity but seems a touch clipped by the tannins and acidity.  This has very nice balance and could use a bit more cellar time, which will be rewarded.  (93 pts)

 

 

2009 Trentadue Winery La Storia “Cuvée 32” – $17.04

We have visited the AlexanderValley based Trentadue Winery a few times in the past and always had a good time and an even better tasting.  This is a long time favorite wine in my house.  The blend varies each vintage, this one is 49% Sangiovese, 27% Merlot, 8% Montepulciano, 8% Malbec, 7% Petite Sirah, and 1% Syrah.  This wine has enough acidity from the Sangiovese to stand up to dishes with tomatoes but the other grapes lend enough body and oomph to stand up to meat.  We like this wine with everything from pasta with meat sauce to Veal Parmesan and baked ziti.

This was decanted about an hour.  The wine is a fairly deep maroon color, but much lighter at the edge.  There are earthy cherries, blackberries, dried herbs, black pepper, and hints of licorice and wildflowers on the enticing nose.  Medium body with fairly solid but ripe tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate the wine has tart cherries, baking spices, earthy elements, and a slight, satisfying herbal note.  Fairly long finish with spicy, tart cherries out front with some earthiness in the background.  A very nice California version of an Italian “Super Tuscan”.  A few years in the cellar won’t hurt the wine, but probably won’t help too much, drink this young for the tart fruit.  (91 pts)

 

 

2008 Grooner Grüner Veltliner – $9.46

This bottle fell through the cracks.  I had it on my list to drink a year or two ago but never got around to opening it.  Grüner Veltliner, like Riesling, are higher acidity whites that can age pretty well, even the ones from low price points.  I guess today will be a good day to see how this under $10 Austrian white progressed or even survived with three years in the cellar.

This is a very nice pale yellow/green color.  A soft and inviting nose with juicy melons, lemon zest, white pepper, fresh green peas, vanilla, and green herbs.  The wine is light to medium body with tart acidity and just a hint of sweetness.  On the palate the wine has tart citrus, solid herbaceous notes, and some spicy white pepper.  There is a nice lingering finish with the citrus and herbal notes and some spice in the background and just a touch of sweetness adding depth.  This is a very nice Summer sipper, especially for an under $10 wine that sat in the cellar for over three years.  (88 pts)

 

 

Mailing Lists

 

Jean Edwards Cellars

This is the home of some fantastic NapaValley cabernets at unbelievable prices.  Their latest offer includes their 2009 Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet and the 2009 Seventy Four – Forty One Howell Mountain Cab came out of Friday.  If you can bribe your way onto their pre-release mailing list, these are only $48 each.  As a bonus, they also have a Library Release of their first commercial offering, the 2004 Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet.  Visit https://jeanedwardscellars.com/ and tell Karen I sent you.

If you’re interested, we’re having a pre-release 2009 Jean Edwards Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard with dinner tonight.  Check out my blog tomorrow for my review.

 

Epoch Estate Wines

Epoch’s next release will be hitting the inbox in mid September.  They are moving from the dreaded free-for-all to a guaranteed allocation with a wish list option.  This usually method usually cuts back your maximum bottle quantity but allows you some time to get in your order.  I greatly prefer smaller but guaranteed allocations.  I’ve completely missed some offers due to business travel and how many people can actually spend all day constantly monitoring their e-mail when an offer is due to hit?

 

Rudius Wines

No definite date for the next release but the interesting news is there will be a white wine offering in the future.  There will be a 2011 Rudius Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay in the Spring offering.  The upcoming fall release looks to be Cabernets and Grenache.  I highly recommend getting on Jeff Ames’ mailing list for Rudius.  I also recommend checking out the really nice, updated website which includes new “retrospective” tasting notes on the wines.  The site is http://www.rudiuswines.com/

 

 

#CabernetDay

Save the Date: August 30, 2012 will be the third annual global celebration of Cabernet.  You have a couple weeks to pick out a bottle to open.  Let us know which wine you choose.  #Cabernet Day

 

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines.  I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar.  I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com.  Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear.  There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

 

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase.  I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive.  I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount.  Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges.  None of the prices include the sales tax.

 

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.

 

 

Cheers!